Film Review: To Live

[Anonymous]

Yes, as mentioned in class, this DVD new costs about $90. However, Amazon does have quite a few used DVDs of the film in the $20 range. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=to+live+dvd

It's a great film to show a history class of (high achieving) middle schoolers and all high school students who are studying China.

[Anonymous]

“To Live,” I believe was the tampering of the Dao. It seemed the husband messed with normality by gambling. Therefore his desire to attain more made him lose everything his house, his wife for a while, his children etc. Every time he thought he was in harmony something tragic happened. All of this intent to be content and have harmony was centered around Communism. Wow what a concept to analyze in your brain. What was strange was the men in the movie who were most loyal to Communism were also faced with tragic endings.

[Anonymous]

There was a lot to look at in the movie... What I found interesting was the role of luck, the veneration of Mao and how the movie saw humor in it, certain jobs- carrying gamblers home on your back and delivering thermoses of hot water... The role of children... I'd see it again.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised to see that the Chinese gov't allowed the movie to be shown with all of the failures of the movements. I hadn't thought about the symbolism of the couple losing each kid to each movement (Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution). The movie is very tragic but it definitely has a lot to offer to students to understand what happen to China the first few decades of the Communist Revolution.

[Anonymous]

I loved the ending of the movie. The main character tells his grandson about the chicks in the box, reminiscent of what he told a his son. However, he tells his grandson that the chicks will grow up to not ride an oxen (as he told his son) but to ride trains and planes. I felt this was a foreshadowing of China's future relationship with capitalism (as the Oxen represents Communism). I think this would be an excellent film to show AP or Honors World History.

[Anonymous]

"To Live" is one of my favorite movies from Zhang Yi Mou that I will use for my AP Chinese class this year. The movie takes the audiences from before the Chinese Civil War to the end of the Culture Revolution. It offers students a good concept of the Chinese society at that time.

For language, I will introduce various items including idioms such as, "塞翁失馬焉知非福". It depicts Fugui's loss of his mansion, which was an incident that eventually saved his life.

Below is a link with a good lesson plan to accompany this movie:

http://www.aems.illinois.edu/downloads/To_Live.pdf

[Anonymous]

If I show this film I will have to point out a lot to my support kids to make sure they follow the story and is symbolism. I can have them take some notes and share thoughts and feelings as well as some Q and A at the end.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Zhang Yimou's 1994 film To Live is a sweeping epic which follows one family's struggle to survive throughout the turbulent decades of China's communist revolution covering many of the formative events that contributed to the rise of the Maoist state. There is much to commend in this film for use in the classroom. First of all, it conveys the sequence of the revolutionary procees in China in a much more engaging way than any textbook; therefore it could act as an excellent supplemant to reading assignment sthat students might be assigned in a class. Of particular value, To Live highlights fascinating elements of the revolution, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, bringing to life the effects that these policies had on a normal Chinese family. Scarcity is experienced by people in order that Industiralization might be completed, even to the point of sacrifice and death; Chairman Mao is revered with cultish loyalty; those most loyal to the revolution find them selves targetted as it s betrayers. I show very few feature films in my AP World History classes, but this one is a gem and the two hours that the viewing requires will be well worth the time spent.

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